When I was in college I waited tables while on break from school. I enjoyed having the extra cash around (even though I was much more likely to spend it than save it). But being nice to the guests was easy enough because I had the incentive of a tip at the end of the day to look forward to.

Now that I have a career, I don’t get those little cash-based incentives any more. Part of me misses that. But there’s another part of me that enjoys the other incentives I get with my job: travel (granted it’s to cover something for work, but I’m going places nonetheless), the opportunity to write (and get paid for it) and at this stage in the game a steady job (which I never thought would be an incentive, but is now that the economy is so bad).

Techs are no different, I’m sure. Some might like the extra incentive of money, while others might like the offering of training, time off or just a good pat on the back and recognition of a job well done.

We’ve been doing an informal survey the last several weeks asking people what they want as incentives. After three full weeks of posing this question, here are the results. Now, we didn’t list every possible incentive, but you get the drift.
Money    72%
Time off    14%
Company events/parties    3%
Certificates/awards    5%
Other    7%

You can take this information for what it’s worth, but only you know what your staff likes best. But do they know you know? If you’re really interested in making sure you’re getting the most out of your employees with your incentive packages, ask them. I’m sure that they’ll appreciate the interaction you’re having with them and the chance to give feedback.

Also, now might be the time to broach this subject. With the economy in its current situation, I think most employees will be honest without being greedy. Having a good, steady job might be incentive enough right now.